


A Message Answered

by 18lzytwner



Series: Bones - First Series [4]
Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-11-18
Updated: 2006-11-18
Packaged: 2019-06-10 03:36:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15282720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: Booth and Bones are after a killer that haunts Brennan. Can they catch him or will a new body turn up? And will we ever find out what Bones wrote on that piece of paper? 4th BB and HA.  Song included is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol





	1. Chapter 15

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Monday 9:00 a.m.**

_**This is three weeks after Colombia and one week after “Aliens in a Spaceship”** _

            Dr. Temperance Brennan sat at her desk fingering a piece of paper that looked as though it had seen World War three.  The edges were dirty and it was obvious the piece had been ripped out of something.  She unfolded the paper and it was evident that it had been folded multiple times, as if someone was trying to seal the words scrawled on it from any harm.  A knock on her office door forced her to quickly fold the piece of paper back up and throw it in her desk drawer.

          “Bones, we have a body that needs your expertise in Maryland.”  It was Booth.

          “Let me get my kit.”  She said as she got up from her desk and grabbed what she needed.  Within minutes, the forensic anthropologist and FBI Special Agent were on the road. 

          “Temperance, there is something about this body I think that you should know before opening the file.”  Booth said.

          “What is it that the file won’t tell me?”  She asked.

          “Do you remember that Halloween where you kissed me and later you apologized and things were weird for awhile before we finally became a couple?”  It had to be the longest sentence Booth had ever made but he hoped it was enough for her to remember.

          “Yes, I do.”  Brennan’s words came out slowly.

          “Well, the guy that you couldn’t figure out, we think he’s back.”  The FBI Agent said it quickly.

          “What?  That doesn’t make sense.  He always produced a body on November first, besides there hasn’t been a body since 2000.  Where has he been the past six years?”  Brennan was obviously upset and she flipped open the manila folder. 

          “The local cops called me as soon as the body was discovered.  It’s partially decomposed with a note that reads ‘the dead walk the earth’ in Russian and it was found on a bench at a bus stop right in the middle of downtown Annapolis.  Could it be a copycat?”  He asked. 

          “No, the note and the missing organ were left of the reports in the newspapers and television broadcasts.  He’s back.”  The forensic anthropologist looked at the photos of the crime scene.

          “The locals are waiting for us before they move the body.  Hopefully since this guy changed his MO, he made a mistake.”  Booth told her.  Brennan only nodded as the FBI Agent pressed his foot farther down on the accelerator.    

  **Back at the Jeffersonian**

                Angela sat at her computer trying to analyze some evidence from the Grave Digger case when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

          “You aren’t that sneaky.”  She said.  She turned around and immediately regretted her statement.

          “I wasn’t trying to be sneaky.”  Cam said.

          “Right, I was just kidding.”  Angela quickly replied. 

          “Anyway, Brennan and Booth are off bringing in another body.  It apparently has to deal with an older case and I want you to pull up anything you can on the old forensics.  We need to be able to compare everything to make sure we catch this guy.”  Dr. Saroyan told her.

          “Ok, but I wasn’t here when that case came in.  Where would I look?”  The forensic artist asked.

          “With Hodgins and Zach-a-roni in the paper files.  Here is a list of all the case numbers.”  Cam said as she handed the forensic artist a piece of paper.

          “They can’t find it themselves?”  Angela raised an eyebrow as she accepted it.

          “Apparently, they are stocked according to a system Brennan devised so she’d never forget where they are and it’s making live difficult for them.  I was hoping you might have some insight.”  The Head of Forensics said.

          “Uh sure.  I’ll go right now and help them.”  Angela got up and quickly headed for File Storage.  She didn’t know anything about Brennan’s system and she figured that something seemed odd with the fact that it just wasn’t the Lab’s cases down in file storage.  Shaking her head she turned and entered the door that had the words “FILE STORAGE” stenciled across it.

          “I’m telling you there is no way that they could control the energy enough to contain inside those tiny phasors.”  Hodgins said.

          “The science is sound much more so than the light sabers.”  Zach answered.

          “So this is what you’ve been holding a nerd convention down here instead of looking for the files.”  Angela tried to contain her laughter at the two.

          “Nerd convention?”  Zach was once again confused.

          “We found the files,” Hodgins paused and looked down at his watch, “twenty minutes ago.” 

          “Cam sent me over here because she thought Brennan had somehow had these arranged in her own system and you guys were having a hard time.  How am I going to explain the phasor versus light saber discussion?”  Angela asked.

          “She sent you down here to get rid of you.  Cam knows darn well that the files are stored according to the letter and first three digits of the case number.”  Hodgins said.

          “Uh huh, come you two.  I’d like to keep my job if that’s all right with you.”  The forensic artist grabbed one of the boxes while the guys grabbed the remaining four.


	2. Chapter 2

**Downtown Annapolis, Maryland 10:00am**

                “You must be Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan, I’m Detective Sullivan.  We left the body so you could take a look.”  The Maryland policeman said.

          “Where is Detective Lambert?”  Brennan asked.

          “He was called up for duty in Iraq so I got the case.”  Sullivan explained.  Brennan nodded and Booth changed the subject.   

          “Who found the body?”  The FBI Special Agent asked.

          “A Mr. Smith.  He was walking to the bus station and he assumed it was a bum taking a nap or something until he got close enough to realize that besides the awful smell there was flesh in the wrong places.”  Detective Sullivan said.

          “This doesn’t make sense.”  They heard Brennan say.

          “What is it, Bones?”  Booth asked.

          “This body isn’t like the others.  It isn’t missing any organs and it doesn’t appear to be cut anywhere.  All I can tell is that the person was definitely manually strangled like the others.”  Brennan told them.

          “How can you tell with all the flesh all over and that nasty color?”  Detective Sullivan asked.

          “There are petechiae around the eyes.”  She said.  

          “What about the note?”  Booth asked.  Brennan picked it up and looked closely at it. 

          “The handwriting is different than the other notes.”  She said.

          “So maybe it’s a copycat.”  Sullivan said.

          “No.”  Brennan said. 

          “The note and missing organ were left out of the news.”  Brennan continued.

          “Well that only explains the organ not the note.  So…” Sullivan stopped.  No one wanted to think about the possibility.

          “There are two of them.”  Booth said.

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab 11:00 am**  

          Dr. Saroyan stood on the platform, waiting for Dr. Brennan to call.  She knew that Angela and Jack would be wondering why she had sent all three of them to the file storage room.  However, there was nothing she was going to do about it. 

          She had called Booth’s cell phone but it went to voicemail after a few rings.  She didn’t leave a message, though; instead she called his apartment and left a long message on the machine. The squints had been out of the way and that way no one would know what she said. The Head of Forensics had seen how Booth had looked at Dr. Brennan when he pulled her out of that hole, last week.  Despite the fact that they had been on one of their infamous breaks, she knew where his heart truly lie.  There was no more denying it.  A jingle made her look up and picked up the phone.

          “Cam.”  She said.

          “Dr. Saroyan, I’m sending the body back to the Lab.  Booth and I are going to be back soon after we get all the information from the Annapolis police.”  Brennan told her.

          “Ok, I’ll have Zach take a look at the body right away.”  Cam said.

          “Have Angela try to make a picture of the face.  Most of the skin is there but it’s loose and discolored.”  The forensic anthropologist instructed.

          “She isn’t going to like that.”  Dr. Saroyan commented.

          “I know but if the fingerprints or DNA aren’t in any system, then we’ll need it.  See you in a few hours.”  Brennan said.  With that the call ended and Cam got to work.

**Annapolis Police Station 11:30 am**  

                Brennan got off the phone and turned her head to Booth.  He was talking with the detectives and making sure the Federal versus Local was all worked out.  The FBI Special Agent glanced over at her and smiled.  Taking up a stack of paperwork, he walked over to her.

          “Well this is all the info on the current body and some other ones that might be linked.  Unfortunately, most of the possibly linked cases don’t have any remains to go with them because the bodies were released after such a long period of inactivity.”  He said.

          “I’ll have Angela go over the photos.  I told Cam we’d be back in a few hours and now you’re done already?”  Brennan asked.

          “Not exactly.  They’re loading up the SUV with a couple of boxes.”  Booth told her.

          “Let’s go to lunch.  I know you want to get working but we can’t do anything without something in our stomachs.  Besides Zach will be handling the body.”  He continued.

          “I… all right.”  Brennan acquiesced.  The FBI Agent was surprised by her acceptance but he figured they could talk over lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Joe’s Diner, Annapolis, Maryland, 12:00 pm**

                Booth sipped on his sweetened iced tea while Brennan enjoyed her regular iced tea.  The forensic anthropologist had been quiet until he finally asked,

          “What’s on your mind?”

          “I’m just trying to figure out if there are in fact two killers, why we’ve only seen evidence of one.  That and why would he stop and then six years later reappear.  Something doesn’t make any sense.”  Brennan said.  By the look on her face, Booth could tell that that wasn’t it but he didn’t press it.

          “Maybe the original killer was training a replacement.”  The FBI Agent suggested.

          “Why?  He has done a good enough job to not leave any fingerprints or DNA behind.  I know for certain that there is usually an organ is missing, all the victims were manually strangled, the bodies are dumped somewhere public, the man is six foot four, has large hands, and he has an excellent education.  With all that information, I can’t find a person to match the profile and I can’t figure out how he dumps a body without being seen.”  Brennan said.

          “Well we’ll tackle this as a team, like we always do.  Between us and the rest of the squint squad we can find this guy.”  Booth tried to reassure her.

          “Like we found the ‘Grave Digger’?”  She asked.  That was only a week old but once again that case had only a few things to go on and nothing pointing toward a specific person.  It was then that the waitress appeared with their food.  Booth looked at his cheeseburger with eager anticipation while Brennan happily tucked into her salad.

          They ate in silence until Booth’s cell phone rang.  Quickly, he wiped his hands and mouth on his napkin and flipped open the phone.

          “Booth.”  The FBI Special Agent said.  Brennan watched his expressions as he talked with someone over the phone.  Whatever the news was it apparently was good because he smiled at her.  In a few minutes, Booth hung up and looked with a gleam in his eyes.

          “Well, whoever this guy is he made a big mistake.”  The G-man said.

          “What’s up?”  Brennan asked.

          “That was Cam.  They found a set of fingerprints and they’ve sent them over to the Hoover Building to have them run through the system.  That and the hand impressions aren’t the same size as the previous bodies.  Zach thinks that the murderer is probably just under six foot because of the victim being around five and a half feet tall.  The killer had just enough pressure to knock the vic out and then had to finish him off.  Hopefully, all this will give us whoever this guy is and he will lead us to the original killer.”  Booth told her.

          “So there definitely are two killers.  We should get back to the lab, immediately.”  She said.

          “Let’s finish our lunch first ok?  I’ll flag down the waitress for the check.”  He told her.  Nodding, the forensic anthropologist quickly finished off her salad and stole a couple of Booth’s fries to help him finish.

          “Hey!”  He teased.

          “I should think you’d be used to it by now.”  She smiled.  The waitress approached and handed Booth the check.  He threw some cash down, making sure to leave her a tip and then the partners headed for the big black, government issue SUV. 

**Back at the Jeffersonian**   

          Cam stared at the multiple case files trying to see if there was something the initial investigations had missed.  It seemed as though the cases were void of any DNA and fingerprints.  Then it hit her, the dirt and bugs.

          “Hodgepodge!”  She shouted.


	4. Chapter 4

**Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab 1:00 pm**

                Hodgins was busy taking a look at the soil samples that Cam and Zach had given him when Booth and Brennan walked into the Lab.  They were both carrying boxes marked ‘Property of the Annapolis Police Department’.

          “What are those?”  Cam asked as she swiped them in.

          “These are cases with possible links to the current body.”  Booth told her as he set his boxes down.  He flashed her a small smile and she wondered if there was something more to it.

          “Any luck with the fingerprints?”  Brennan asked as she set her boxes down.

          “They came back to a Luke Walters.  He has a criminal record.”  Zach said as he handed her the printout from the FBI.

          “Two counts of assault, one in 1995 and another in 2000.”  The student continued.

          “Sounds like this guy has a history of violence.”  Booth took the rap sheet out of Brennan’s hands.  Upon further inspection, however, he became a little concerned.

          “These two assaults were bar room brawls.  Nothing to indicate he’d suddenly go out and kill people.”  The FBI Special Agent said.    

          “Sounds like he met somebody who changed his mind.”  Cam told him.  Booth nodded and quickly flipped open his phone.

          “Sam, get me the name of the guy a Luke Walters shared a cell with in Maryland.  Thanks.”  He hung up and turned to Brennan.

          “I’m going to bring Walters in and see if I can’t rattle his cage.  Maybe if he’s staring down a murder charge he’ll talk.”  Booth said, hoping she’d want to come with. 

          “I think I found something.”  Hodgins interrupted.

          “What is it?”  Brennan asked.

          “Not scientific mumbo jumbo, just tell us.”  The FBI Agent said.

            “All right G-man. The soil samples indicate that the bodies were possibly stored somewhere up in the Allegheny Mountains along the West Virginia-Maryland border.  It’s a place called Backbone Mountain.  Highway 50 runs right across the ridge.”  Hodgins explained.

          “So our murderer could live in West Virginia and dump the bodies in Maryland, knowing that no one will know who they are over there.”  Booth assumed.

          “The only problem with that is with the exception of this body, all the others I’ve identified.”  Brennan said.

          “Those were because they were handed over to a federal level.  I’m willing to bet that all those bodies from the unsolved jobs are from West Virginia.  Maryland didn’t hang onto the unidentified bodies after awhile and they were buried at the state’s expense.”  The FBI Agent told her.

          “Zach how many of the identified bodies were from West Virginia?”  Brennan asked.  The student flipped through the files and turned to the forensic anthropologist.

          “Four were from West Virginia and the remaining two were from Maryland.”  Zach told the group.

          “I have a face for our victim.”  Angela said as she joined the group on the platform.

          “So maybe Walters killed the two in Maryland and then he went away for that assault charge.  It would explain why there wasn’t any body in 2001.”  Cam suggested.

          “It doesn’t explain if there were two of them why the other wouldn’t have continued to kill.  All this speculation isn’t helping we have to focus on the evidence.”  Brennan said.  Both seemingly ignored the forensic artist.

          “Ange, run that picture in the missing persons database in both Maryland and West Virginia.  See what you can come up with.”  Booth said to her.

          “Ok, nice to know that someone noticed I said something.”  Angela smirked and headed back to her office.  Jack left the group to go after her.

          “All right ladies, you keep working on the body and I’ll go bring Walters in.”  Booth said.  Cam and Brennan were glaring at each other but soon Brennan’s undivided attention returned to the bones on the table.

          “We know that this body wasn’t missing an organ.  Why would they take the time to kill, store, and remove an organ from the body all those other times and now be so sloppy?”  The forensic anthropologist wondered.

          “Zach check the x-rays of all the cases.  If anything jumps out at you tell me.”  She told him.

          “Yes, Dr. Brennan.”  Quickly, the student went off to go through the files.  Brennan looked around to notice that she was now alone on the platform.  Everyone off doing their own tasks, she pulled a chair from the computer desk in the corner and sat down.  This body had given them a suspect but things were still not right.  All her scientific knowledge couldn’t explain the negligence by the killer or killers.  Deep in thought, she didn’t hear Angela come over to her.

          “I have a match in the West Virginia database.  The victim’s name is Shawn Lamker.  He’s a thirty-five year old CPA.”  The forensic artist said. 

          “Tell Cam.  I’ll call Booth.”  Brennan sighed.  Angela nodded and then asked,

          “Are you ok?”

          “I’ll be fine.”  Her friend half-smiled.

          “You know it’s only been a week since you and Jack were buried in that car.  If you want to talk, you’ll let me know?”  Angela wondered.

          “Don’t worry, I promise to let you know.  Thanks Angela.”  Brennan promised and pulled out her phone to call Booth.


	5. Chapter 5

**Luke Walters’ residence 3:00 pm**

            Booth pulled his SUV outside of Luke Walters’ residence, which was ten minutes outside Annapolis.  There was a 1995 Escort parked in the driveway and the FBI Special Agent made a mental note that that wasn’t the car registered to Walters.  Getting out the vehicle, Booth made his way to the front door. 

          He knocked and waited for someone to open the door but after a few minutes of no answer, he decided to try the door handle.  Finding it unlocked, Booth quickly drew his Glock 22 from his shoulder holster.  Stealthily, he moved through the front hallway and into the living room.  There was someone sitting on the sofa but they didn’t appear to have heard him.

          “Luke Walters?  I’m Special Agent Booth from the FBI.  Put your hand up where I can see them.”  There was no movement from the person on the sofa and he tried again.

          “I said put your hands where I can see them!”  Booth ordered.  Again no movement and the FBI Special Agent moved to the front of the couch.

          “Damn!”  He swore as he saw the sight before him.  Quickly, Booth felt for a pulse but the man was already gone.  Grabbing his phone he made a call.

          “This is FBI Special Agent Booth.  I need police assistance at 314 Palm Street.  I have a dead body.”  He told the police dispatcher.

          “All right, I’ll send them over immediately, sir.”  The dispatcher said.

          “Thank you.”  Booth hung up and dialed another number.

          “Brennan.”  The familiar reply came over the cell phone’s earpiece.

          “How fast can you and the rest of team get out to Luke Walters’ place?”  He asked.

          “We can be there in about an hour.  Why?”  Brennan wondered.

          “I just found Luke Walters dead and he has a note.”  Booth told her.

************************* 

          The Jeffersonian’s van pulled outside 314 Palm Street about an hour later and the squint squad disembarked.  The residence had been cordoned off with the familiar yellow tape that said “Crime Scene DO NOT CROSS.”  Booth lifted up the tape and let Brennan, Zach, and Hodgins under it.

          “He’s just like the others except the note left on his body was different.”  He explained.

          “How different and why didn’t you have the Annapolis Police send the body to us?”  Brennan wondered.

          “Because I thought you needed to see this.”  Booth told her.  Brennan gave him a look, as did Hodgins.  Zach just seemed excited to be at an actual crime scene and he didn’t seem to notice.

          Entering the house, Brennan walked over to the body and saw that Walters had indeed been strangled like the rest but that appeared to be it.  But looking up she noticed what was different.

          “Disappointment.”  Was the word on the wall behind the couch.  It had been written in blood.

          “So I take it our killer wasn’t happy with the way his partner did business.”  Hodgins smirked as he photographed the writing. 

          “I don’t understand.  Where did he get the blood to write the message?  The only blood I can find is some from the victim’s nose.”  Brennan asked as she placed Walters’ body back against the sofa.

          “Hey what kind of stuff does this guy have on his walls?  I mean the writing seems bumpy.”  Hodgins wondered, as he looked closer.

          “Bumpy?”  Zach asked as he came over to take a look.  The student carefully touched one of the little bumps with his rubber-gloved index finger.  His eyes went wide.

          “Dr. Brennan.”  He said.  The forensic anthropologist stopped inspecting the body and came over to them. 

          “That’s not stucco that’s brain matter.”  Brennan said.  At the mention of the words, Booth turned a little green.  He had seen brain matter before but he never got used to it.

          “Are you saying this guy killed Walters and somehow used his brain matter to write the message?”  He asked.

          “It certainly appears that way.”  Brennan said.

          “How did he get the brain out of the body without splitting the head open?”  Zach asked.

          “Well there is a trail of blood leaving from Walters’ nostrils.  I believe he did what the Ancient Egyptians used to do in the process of mummification.  Our killer ripped Walters’ brain out through his nostrils.”  The forensic anthropologist explained.  Immediately, Booth and Hodgins raised their hands to their noses.

          “Ouch.”  They both said.

          “By the looks of things, he was already dead when our killer removed his brain.”  Brennan told them.

          “That doesn’t make it any less painful to think about.”  Booth said.  The forensic anthropologist just shrugged and said,

          “Zach, help me get his body into a bag.  Hodgins, take a sample of the matter on the wall.  It is definitely Walters’ but it won’t hurt to be thorough.”

**Agent Booth’s apartment 7:00 pm**

                Booth pushed open the door to his apartment and let Brennan in.  They decided to order some takeout and discuss what had happened earlier. 

          “You want a beer?”  He asked.

          “Please.”  Brennan smiled.  Booth nodded and headed toward the kitchen.  While he was in the other room she noticed that the answering machine’s light was blinking.

          “You have a message.”  She said as he came back into the room, handed her a beer, and placed the plates and napkins on the coffee table.

          “Is it from you?”  Booth asked as they sat on the couch.

          “How could it be?  We were together for most of the day.”  Brennan wondered, a little confused.

          “Then it can wait.”  He smiled as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.  She smiled and took his hand in hers.  Booth was about to say something when there was a knock on the door and he got up to answer it.  Brennan tugged on his hand indicated she wished he didn’t have to move and he smiled.

          “I’m only going to the door.”  He teased.

          “I know.”  She smirked and let go of his hand.  Grabbing the beer bottle off the coffee table, she took a swig.  Booth paid the delivery boy and brought the food over to her.

          “Mmmm, that pizza smells good.”  Brennan said.

          “Yeah, pepperoni and mushroom.”  He said.  She wrinkled her nose.

          “There’s just mushroom on your half.”  Booth told her.

          “That’s better.”  She teased and picked up a slice and put it on one of the plates.  Booth bit his piece and then followed it with a swig of beer.  Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he opened his mouth and yet again, he was interrupted but the phone ringing.

          “Are you going to answer that?”  Brennan said.  She could see that he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

          “Let the machine get it.  I’m a little busy at the moment.”  Booth smiled and took another bite of pizza.  That’s when the machine’s message kicked in and an all too familiar voice came over the line.

          “Booth, it’s Cam.  I left a message with you earlier but you…” she didn’t get to finish as the FBI Special Agent picked up the phone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Agent Booth’s apartment 7:30 pm**

           “Is there something on the case?”  Booth asked.

          “No, I…” Cam started.

          “Was your earlier message about the case?”  The FBI Agent was in no mood; she was taking time away from Brennan.

          “Both are about us.”  Cam told him.  Booth put his hand on his forehead and heaved a loud sigh. Brennan heard the sigh and looked over at him.  _What is going on?_   She wondered.  Her partner moved into the kitchen and spoke low enough that she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

          “There is no ‘us’.  We were on a break last time I checked.  Right now I have a very beautiful woman, who happens to be my girlfriend, sitting in the living room wondering why I’m talking to another woman.”  Booth told her.

          “Oh uh never mind.  I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”  Cam said it quickly and hung up.  The FBI Special Agent breathed heavily and came back into the living room.  He wanted to slam the phone down on the receiver but he thought better of it.  Instead he placed it down, moved back to the couch, and sat down next to Brennan.

          “I take it whatever she had to say wasn’t about the case.”  She gave him a look.

          “No, it wasn’t Bones.”  Booth said as he picked up his beer and slammed the rest of it down.

          “Care to elaborate?”  Brennan asked.  He looked at her with a tight smile and an unsure look in his chocolate brown eyes.

          “Cam wanted to talk about “us”.”  He said using air quotes.

          “And…” The forensic anthropologist wondered.

          “And I told her there was no “us”.  We had decided to be on one of our breaks and now there was someone else in my life.”  Booth whipped out his ‘charm’ smile. 

          “Oh and this someone else is?”  Brennan teased.

          “She’s about five foot nine with these blue eyes that just cut through everything.  Her smile lights up her whole face and she’s very attractive despite what she thinks of herself.  Out of all the women, I know she is the smartest, although she wouldn’t know a good movie reference if it bit her.”  It was his turn to tease.

          “She seems familiar.”  Brennan smiled.  They both leaned in and their lips touched.  There would have been more if Booth’s stomach hadn’t growled.

          “I guess I’m hungry.”  He smiled when they separated.

          “I guess so.  Anyway we should talk about what happened at Walters’ place today.”  She said.

          “All work and no play…” Booth started.

          “Work first, play later.”  Brennan smiled.

          “I can live with that.”  He said, grabbing another piece of pizza.  It was about room temperature but he didn’t care.

          “I put an APB out on Walters’ car because the car in his driveway wasn’t his.  I’m still waiting to hear back about whom the car belongs to.  CSU went through before you guys got there to find any fingerprints any place that didn’t belong and they’re running them through the Maryland system.”  The G-man told her.

          “Ok, well the matter on the wall was a match to Walters but that wasn’t a surprise.  After examining the body more closely, I can say with absolute certainty that our six foot four well educated man with big hands, killed Walters.  But again that isn’t much of a shock.  No fingerprints or DNA were left behind.  I had Hodgins and Zach bag up anything that could have been used to remove Walters brain through his nose.”  Brennan said.  Booth almost gagged on his pizza.

          “Can we not bring that up, while I’m eating?”  He said.

          “Why?”  She asked as she took another bite of pizza and swig of beer.  Booth tilted his head toward her bottle and she nodded she’d like another.

          “Because it’s nasty and I don’t wanna think about it just yet.”  He told her as he got up to head to the fridge with the two empty bottles.

          “It’s just a fact; it’s not like we’re looking at it.”  Brennan called to him.  The FBI Special Agent shook his head and returned with their beers.  Handing, Brennan the drink he sat back down.

          “I’m actually fascinated with his choice.  From an anthropological standpoint, we could be dealing with someone who is very familiar with the Ancient Egyptian rituals and their way of life.  Perhaps the reason he takes the organs is not because of some satanic ritual but because the Egyptians held certain organs to be important in their burial customs.  The Egyptians would remove every organ except the heart and place them in canopic jars.  He would have had to use a hot poker with a hook on the end, in order to pull the brain out through the nasal cavity.  Perhaps the man we are looking for is an Egyptian.  It could explain the languages he used in the notes, as well.”  The forensic anthropologist said.  Booth put down the piece of pizza he had in his hands and stuck out his tongue.

          “What?”  Brennan asked.

          “I just lost my appetite.”  Booth said.  She shrugged and finished off the slice of pizza she had.

          “Well, I’m full.”  Brennan smiled.

          “Explain to me how our suspect being Egyptian has anything to do with the languages in the notes.”  Booth said as he picked up the pizza box.  Brennan picked up the plates and napkins and followed him into the kitchen.

          “Italy, Spain, and France could be places where he could conduct business, as they have easy access to the Mediterrean.  Latin is a classic language so our suspect might have studied it in college.  The notes written in English, Polish, and Russian, were not our original killer.  I hate to speculate but Walters’ probably killed them since those victims were all from Maryland.  The other four were killed in West Virginia.”  She explained.

          “So you’re saying we should be looking for a man in West Virginia, who somehow had contact with Walters and could be an Egyptian.”  Booth said.

          “It’s all just speculation and I don’t like it but it could be our only ticket to linking the cases.”  Brennan told him.

          “Well just in case we can’t find any Egyptians in West Virginia, what kind of education would say a white or black guy have?”  The FBI Agent asked as he finished packing away the leftovers.

          “He could have gone to an Ivy League school or perhaps have a degree in Foreign Language Studies or even Anthropology and Archeology.  Maybe our killer travels the world so he learns the languages because he has to.  Walters didn’t have a college education so it’s safe to say he didn’t know Polish or Russian because they aren’t traditionally taught in high school.  Our killer probably told him what to write.”  She said.

          “That should narrow the search considerably.  I’ll get that going when I get to the office tomorrow.  I still don’t understand why he would drag another person in on his killing spree.”  Booth told her.

          “I don’t understand it either.”  She shrugged wrapping her hands around his arm.

          “Well I do know that I understand one thing.”  Booth said as he kissed her forehead.

          “What’s that?”  Brennan asked.  The FBI Special Agent’s answer was to scoop her up into his arms.

          “I know that it’s time for a little fun.”  His eyebrows rose a couple times and a ‘charm’ smile crossed his face.  


	7. Chapter 7

**Agent Booth’s apartment, Tuesday 6:30 am**

         “Good Morning D.C.  This is Johnny Bishop and you’re listening to 92.9 LAYD radio.  Here’s a good song to get you movin’.”  The radio personality woke Booth up.  A song came on that he recognized immediately. 

          “Well, I'm hot blooded…” The rest of the song never made it out because Booth’s fist came slamming down on top of his alarm.  Ever since that horrible explosion in Brennan’s kitchen, he hadn’t been able to listen to that song.  Letting go of that thought, he rolled over and looked at his bedmate.

          She slowly opened her eyes and blinked until everything came into focus.  A smile crossed her lips and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself close.

          “Morning.”  She said.

          “Morning, Tempe.”  He smiled and then kissed her forehead.

          “Is it six thirty already?”  Brennan wondered.

          “Yes, it is.”  Booth told her.

          “I don’t want to go.”  She pouted.

          “I don’t want you to go but you can’t go to work wearing the same clothes you did yesterday.”  He reminded her.

          “I suppose you’re right.  Angela would never let me hear the end of it.”  Brennan smirked as she slowly started to let go of Booth. 

          “You’re right.  I thought she’d go easier on you since she knows about us.”  He said.

          “As my best friend, she says it’s her duty to find out every detail about our relationship.”  She told him climbing out of bed.  Booth watched her cross the room and pull on her clothes.

          “Well I guess it’d be better if we don’t make anything obvious.”  Booth got up and pulled his boxers on.  He moved over to her and wrapped her up in a hug.

          “See you at work soon?”  The FBI Agent teased.

          “Where else would I be?”  Brennan asked.  They kissed and then the forensic anthropologist headed out.

          Twenty minutes later, Booth climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.  Walking out to the kitchen, he started the coffee pot and then went to get dressed.  Soon he was back out in the living room and he poked the ‘Play’ button on the message machine.

          “You have one new message.  Monday at ten forty-five a.m.”  The mechanical voice of the machine said.

          “Hey Booth, this is Cam.  I know that we’re supposed to be on a break since the last time we…” the sentence trailed off and there was a pause.

          “Anyway, I’d like to end that break.  We’re two adults and I don’t see why we can’t have two separate relationships.  We can keep our private lives out of work.”  At that point, Booth pressed the fast forward button and got the Chipmunks version of the message.  He was still upset with himself for sleeping with her in the first place and he thought they had both agreed it was a huge mistake.  Especially since he was seeing Brennan at the time, although Cam didn’t know that.  Booth had told the forensic anthropologist and they had had a huge fight.  It had been one of the early bumps in their relationship but luckily they had been able to work it out.

          Hopefully the talk last night had dispelled any ideas in Cam’s head of them getting back together.  Booth pressed the delete button and went into the kitchen.  He fixed a mug of coffee and some toast for breakfast.  When the toast was done, he turned off the coffee pot and then headed out the door.

**Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab 9:00 am**

                Brennan stood at the examining table looking at the cleaned skull of Luke Walters.  Zach watched her and waited for her to say something. 

          “These were the only marks on the entire skeleton?”  She was referring to what looked like scraping marks on the inside of the skull.

          “Yes and according to Cam’s examination, there were no signs of other injuries.”  Zach told her.

          “I expected that.  He manually strangled Walters and then removed his brain, through his nose, with some sort of hook.  Is there any chance you can match the marks to any of the tools we recovered from Walters’ house?”  Brennan asked.

          “That might require cutting the skull, in order to do it.”  He told her.

          “And it could ruin any chance of getting clear marks.”  Brennan paused.

          “Take it to Angela and see if maybe she can scan the impressions into her computer.  While you are doing that, I’ll have Hodgins photograph the weapons so they can be matched digitally.”  She continued.

          “Yes, Dr. Brennan.”  Zach nodded, took the skull, and headed for Angela’s office.  Looking around, Brennan noticed that Hodgins was nowhere to be seen.

          “Where did he go?”  She wondered.  Before she was able to find him she saw Booth walk into the Lab.  He quickly, came over to the platform and scanned in.

          “Well I’ve got bad news and worse news.”  The FBI Agent said.

          “That doesn’t sound good.”  Brennan said.

          “The bad news is that the car that was parked in Walters’ driveway was stolen three weeks ago.”  Booth told her.

          “Who steals a 1995 Escort?”  Cam asked as she came over to the partners.

          “I have no idea.  According to CSU, the car had almost two hundred thousand miles on it and all the prints that they lifted from the inside were from Walters and an unknown person.”  He said.

          “So that’s a dead end.”  Cam sighed.

          “Well the car is registered to a Miss Susan Granger.  I’m going to go talk to her after I’m done here.”  He explained.

          “What’s the worse news?”  Brennan asked.

          “The worse news is that so far out of all the prints in Walters’ house, none of them are out of place.  Mostly just Walter’s and some unknown prints and lots of smudges.”  Booth told them.

          “I take it this Miss Granger wasn’t Walters’ girlfriend?”  Cam wondered.

          “I’m going to find that out.”  He said.

          “Well right now, I have Zach and Angela scanning the inside of Walters’ skull and they are going to try to match any weapon marks, as soon as I find Hodgins.”  Brennan told them.

          “Ok, then you can come with me to Miss Granger’s.”  Booth said.

          “Sounds good.”  She tried to hold back a smile.

          “If you’re looking for Hodgepodge you’ll find him in Angela’s office.  I heard them talking.”  Cam offered.  Brennan nodded and left Booth and the Head of Forensics alone on the platform.


	8. Chapter 8

**Susan Granger’s Residence, Hagerstown, Maryland 11:30 am**

          Booth knocked on the door to the white one floor ranch house.  It looked as though it had been given a new paint job this summer and everything on the outside seemed in immaculate shape.  He looked over at Brennan and saw that she had set her case down and was scanning the outside of the house.  It looked as if she was trying to understand something.

          “What’s up?”  He asked.

          “Why would someone own a 1995 Escort with almost two hundred thousand miles on it and live in a nice house like this?”  She wondered.

          “Well the guys at the shop said the car was in decent shape for its age and mileage.  It was obvious that someone cared about it.  As far as the house, maybe a car isn’t as important as a house.  I know I would like a house someday.”  Booth said.  Before Brennan could say anything the door opened and a tall thin blonde woman answered the door.

          “Can I help you?”  She asked.

          “Miss Granger?”  Booth wondered.

          “Yes?”  Susan cocked an eyebrow.

          “I’m FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan.”  He flashed his badge.    

          “Can we come in?”  He asked.

          “Of course.”  Susan let them in and they walked to the living room.

          “What does the FBI want with me?”  She asked as she sat on a recliner and directed them to take the plush sofa.

          “Well we found your car, ma’am and we’d like to know if you knew a man by the name of Luke Walters?”  Booth asked.

          “The name doesn’t sound familiar.  Is he the one who stole my car?”  Susan asked.

          “We’re not sure.”  The FBI Agent hesitated to tell her more.

          “Ok but why would the FBI be involved with my stolen Escort?”  Miss Granger asked.

          “Mr. Walters was murdered and we believe that it’s possible that whoever murdered him also stole your car.”  Brennan spoke up.

          “Oh dear.”  Susan murmured. 

          “Would it be possible for us to take your fingerprints so we can rule them out?”  The forensic anthropologist asked.

          “Sure, if it’ll help.”  Miss Granger smiled.  Brennan smiled back and opened her kit.  While she was fishing out the things she needed, Booth’s phone went off.

          “Would you excuse me for a moment?”  He asked.  Both women nodded and the FBI Agent left the living room.  Brennan then focused on the fingerprints she needed to take and was done in a few minutes.

          “Sorry about the ink.  The best thing to get it off is rubbing alcohol.”  She handed Susan some alcohol wipes and then changed the subject.

          “I noticed the ring on your finger.  How long have you been engaged?”  Brennan was fishing for information.

          “Michael and I have been engaged for three months.”  A smile beamed across Susan’s face.

          “Did Michael ever use your car?  I might have to take his prints as well.”  The forensic anthropologist asked.

          “No, he has his own car.  He promised to buy me a new car when he gets hired over at Hagerstown Community College.”  Susan told her.  Things were starting to get interesting, so Brennan asked another question.

          “What is he hoping to do over at the college?” 

          “He’s waiting for a professor position to open up in the Anthropology or Archeology departments.  Right now, he’d like to get out of the history-teaching job he’s doing at the Hagerstown branch of the Maryland Correctional Institution.  It’s part of the GED program for the prisoners.”  Susan said.  That last sentence caught Brennan’s immediate attention but before she could ask anything else, Booth walked back into the living room.

          “I’m sorry about that.  Dr. Brennan and I really must be going.  Thank you for your time, Miss Granger.”  The FBI Agent smiled and helped Brennan off the couch.  She started to object but Booth gave her a look and she knew whatever he found out was important.  Susan showed them to the door and the partners climbed back into the SUV.

          “I think we have a solid lead with Miss Granger’s boyfriend and you yanked me out before I could ask anymore questions.”  Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a glare.

          “They found Walters’ cellmate.  I’ve set up a meeting.  We have to go talk to him.”  Booth explained as he fired up the vehicle and pulled out onto the street.

          “Still I think Miss Granger’s boyfriend is a better suspect.  She told me right now he’s waiting for a professorship at the local college in Archeology or Anthropology.  Right now he’s teaching GED history classes down at the Hagerstown correctional facility.”  She told him.

          “All right.  Did you get his name?”  He asked.

          “His first name is Michael.  But it can’t be that hard to find a history teacher in a correctional facility.”  Brennan said. 

**Maryland Correctional Institution, Hagerstown, Maryland 12:30 pm**

          Booth flashed his badge and told the guard behind the fenced in window that Dr. Brennan was his partner.

          “You called and setup an appointment to talk to a Jimmy Briggs.  I’ll have him pulled down to interview one.” The guard said.  He picked up the phone and made a call.  Brennan looked over at Booth and noticed he seemed on edge.

          “I don’t like this.”  Her partner said before she opened her mouth.

          “Why?”  She asked.

          “Because for a lot of these prisoners, you’re the first woman they’ve seen in a long time.”  Booth explained.

          “I’m perfectly capable of handling it, Booth.  It’s not like they aren’t behind bars.”  Brennan said.  He gritted his teeth. 

          “Just because they call out to me, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to pay attention to them.”  She said.

          “I know but…” he didn’t get to finish.  The guard behind the window brought their attention over when they heard him say,

          “What?!” 

          “That can’t be good.”  Booth said.

          “You two had better come with me.”  The guard told them.  Another guard took his place at the window and the three moved down through the locked doors until the reached a section that was labeled “INFIRMARY”.

          “Definitely not good.”  Booth muttered. 

          “What happened?”  Brennan asked as they opened the door.

          “I’ll leave the Doctor to explain it.”  The guard left them to go handle whoever had screwed up. 

          “Hi, I’m Doctor Cole.  I take it you guys were supposed to meet Jimmy Briggs.”  The tall thin man said.

          “Yes, what happened?”  Booth said, skipping the introductions.

          “Jimmy was on his way out of lunch when somebody shanked him.  It looks as though it was a sharpened toothbrush.  I hope you didn’t need him for something important.  By the time he was rushed down here, he had lost too much blood.  I’m afraid he didn’t make it.”  Dr. Cole told them as he showed them the convict’s body.

          “Where did the sharpened toothbrush enter Briggs’ body?”  Brennan asked. 

          “Right into his stomach.  I haven’t done a full autopsy yet.”  The other doctor told her.  Brennan only nodded and looked carefully at the body. 

          “Well thank you for your time Dr. Cole.  Come on Bones.”  Booth said.  She smiled at the doctor and they went back to the guard station.

          “Do you guys have a GED program here?”  Booth asked the man at the desk. 

          “Yes, you’d have to talk to the Warden about it.”  The guard told him.

          “Thanks.”  The FBI Agent said.  He then put his hand on the small of Dr. Brennan’s back and the two walked out toward the exit.

          “Aren’t we going to talk to the Warden?”  She asked as they approached the SUV.

          “Don’t worry we will but not today.  I figure I bust his chops over the phone about the death of Jimmy Briggs and then he’ll be more forthcoming with information.  Warden is as much of a political job as well as a regular job.  Plus that might allow me to bring this Michael to D.C. and catch him out of his element.”  Booth explained unlocking her door and then running around the other side of the vehicle.

          “Interrogate him on your own territory.  Make him feel uncomfortable; I understand.  All right.  We should get back to the lab and see if Zach has had any luck.”  Brennan said, when they were both inside the SUV.  Booth smiled and fired the big black vehicle up.


	9. Chapter 9

**Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab Wednesday, 10 a.m.**

          FBI Agent Booth walked up to the platform and scanned himself in.  He had called and talked to the Warden over at the Hagerstown prison and he had promised to send his history teacher Michael Snyder to D.C. so Booth could talk to him.

          “Hey Bones.”  He greeted Brennan.

          “Hello, Booth.  Any luck with the Warden?”  She asked.

          “Yes, Michael Snyder should be here around noon.  Warden Simpson was most happy to comply with my request to have him send down to headquarters after our meeting was cancelled due to the murder of Jimmy Briggs.”  Booth told her.

          “Good.  Zach matched the weapon impressions in Walters’ skull to a long metal skewer.  I was informed that someone would usually use them at home to make shish kebobs.  The bad news is that none of the skewers taken from Walters’ house match the marks.  Apparently, our murderer brought his own.”  The forensic anthropologist explained.

          “All right but here’s a question.  How did he pull all of Walters’,” Booth swallowed and then continued, “you know out and then not leave more blood at the crime scene?”

          “It was possible he used some sort of container to collect the blood and brain matter, so that he could use it to write on the wall.  However, the amount of blood that was used to write our killer’s message was more than what would have been from Walters’ brain, so I ran some tests and found three types of blood, A negative, B positive, and O positive.  Walters was O positive and when I went back over the records, two of the West Virginia victims had B positive, one was O positive, and the last one had A negative.”  Brennan told him.

          “So our guy brings blood that he pulled from his other victims and used it to tell us he was disappointed with Walters.  It was his way of telling us that he killed the victims from West Virginia and that the ones in Maryland were Walters doing.”  The FBI Special Agent said.

          “He was trying to show he was the stronger male; that he was the alpha.  So I checked the records in the Maryland murders and found that both victims were O negative.”  She started.

          “Don’t go into that whole alpha male speech, I think I’ve heard it enough to know what you mean.”  Booth teased.  Brennan gave him an indignant look and crossed her arms over her chest.

          “I was kidding.”  He said and a smile crossed her face.

          “I know.”  The forensic anthropologist smirked.  Booth was about to say something when he phone rang.  So instead he gave her a look and picked it up.

          “Booth.”  His face changed as the phone call progressed and Brennan watched his movements.  She didn’t hear Angela come up from behind her.

          “What are you two up to?”  The forensic artist asked.  Brennan gasped and grabbed her chest.

          “Angela.” 

          “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you.  I just saw you two up here and thought I’d come over to check it out.”  Her friend said.

          “Booth and I were discussing the case.  Our suspect Michael Snyder is coming in to the Hoover Building at noon and I’m going to watch the interrogation.”  Brennan explained. 

          “Uh huh, I’m sure that’s not all you’re going to do.”  Before she could ask Angela what she meant the forensic artist left her and headed over to Hodgins’ station.  Brennan’s attention was about to turn back to Booth but instead she carefully watched Angela and Jack.

          The forensic artist was smiling and so was the entomologist.  Angela whispered something in his ear and he laughed.  Jack had told her that he was ‘over the moon’ for Angela when they were trapped together in that car and she had seen the two kiss when they had been rescued.  It was obvious that they couldn’t get enough of each other and she hoped that one day, she and Booth could be so open.

          “Bones.  Bones.  Anybody in there?”  The FBI Agent waved his hand in front of her face.

          “Huh?”  She asked.

          “I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes.  Are you ok?”  Booth sounded concerned.

          “I’m fine.  Who was on the phone?”  Brennan smiled.

          “That was Sam.  He did a background check on Michael Snyder.  It turns out he is from Charleston, West Virginia.”  He told her.

          “So why is he now in Maryland?”  Brennan asked.

          “He went to college in Maryland and that’s where I assumed he met Susan Granger but they’ve only lived together since 2005.”  Booth explained.

          “All right but that doesn’t clarify why he stopped killing in 2001 or why he decided to use Walters as his accomplice.”  She wondered.

          “Snyder graduated from college in the summer of 1994.  The first body turned up November first of that year.  Something happened between May and October that made him snap.  As far as the languages, he needed to take Latin, French, and Spanish for his degree but as an added bonus he took Italian, Polish, and Russian.  Apparently he hoped to travel all over Europe.  However, there is no record of him ever owning or even applying for a passport.”  He said. 

          “Great that clears some of that up but it still doesn’t answer what I said.”  She reminded him.

          “Well hopefully we can clear that up when I interrogate Snyder in half an hour.”  Booth smiled and took her wrist.

          “Booth…” he pulled her from around the examining table.

          “I could have walked around the table all by myself, you know.”  She said.  The FBI Special Agent just smirked. 


	10. Chapter 10

**The Hoover Building 12:00 pm**

          “Mr. Snyder, I’m Special Agent Booth.  I’d like to thank you for coming down to D.C. on such short notice.”  Brennan watched from the other side of interrogation room’s glass.  She was confused at his approach.

          “No problem, Agent Booth but I guess I’m a little confused as to why I’m here.”  Snyder said as he folded his hands on top of the table.  Brennan watched his movement and realized that she needed to get a glimpse of the hands laid out flatly.  Picking up her cell phone she made a call.

          “Excuse me.”  Booth smiled and answered his phone.

          “Bones?”  He asked.

          “I need to see his hands laid out flat.”  She told him.

          “Will do.”  Booth told her and closed his phone.

          “Sorry about that.  I called you down here because I was hoping for some insight into a former prisoner by the name of Luke Walters.  I understand you taught him in your history class.”  The FBI Agent said.

          “Yes, I did but I thought Walters was released a short time ago.”  Snyder wasn’t giving him much.

          “Well, Mr. Walters is dead and now so is his cell mate so you seem to be the last link to our dead inmate.”  Booth watched his reaction at the mention of Walters’ death.  Snyder didn’t even seem to flinch.

          “He didn’t have any family or anything?”  The suspect asked.

          “No, and we can’t find a trace of a girlfriend so we were wondering what kind of man he was.”  Booth told him.

          “I guess I don’t know why you couldn’t have asked me this over the phone.”  Snyder avoided answering the FBI Special Agent.

          “After I set up a meeting with Jimmy Briggs and came all the way to see him, only to find out he was dead, Warden Simpson was all too willing to allow me to do whatever I felt like.  Besides I bet it was nice to be getting paid for this.”  Booth smiled and Snyder smiled back.

          “Then I appreciate it, Agent Booth.  Walters was a good student.  He loved to learn about history and I told him he should try to go to college after he got out.”  The suspect told him.  Brennan watched the curious interview with great interest. 

          “Did Walters ever talk about friends or who he had on the outside?”  Booth asked. 

          “He did talk about one friend who had promised him a real job when he got out but I can’t remember the friend’s name, sorry.”  Snyder said.  Booth pulled his lips tightly across his teeth and carefully asked the next question.

          “Do you know any other kinds of plans Walters had?” 

          “Other than staying out of prison, no I don’t.”  Snyder said.  At this point, the suspect flattened his hands on the top of the table.  Brennan looked at them closely.  His hands were big and muscular.  They went pretty well with her approximated height of six foot four as she watched him stand up. 

          “I have a one more question.”  Booth said.

          “Do you mind if I stand up?  My legs hurt from the ride.”  Snyder wondered.  Booth nodded and asked another question.

          “So you have no idea why there would be a message attached to Walters’ body that said ‘the dead walk the earth’.”  It was a flat out lie but he wanted to see how Snyder would react.  The man turned his head and stared at the agent.

          “No, I wouldn’t.”  Came the reply.  Brennan watched from the other side of the glass and watched his body language and eye movement.  Booth had caught him slightly off guard but Snyder’s perfectly innocent response showed that the suspect was smart enough to control himself.

          “Well then I guess you can return to Maryland.  Thanks for your time.”  Booth stuck out his hand and Snyder shook it.  The two left the room and Booth watched him walk down the hall.  Brennan went into the room and quickly took handprints off the interrogation room table.  Snyder might not be as smart as she thought he was.

          “You ready?”  Booth asked poking his head back into the room.

          “I got the prints.  Lets go.”  She smiled.

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab 12:45 pm**

“We have to analyze every spot that a body was found.  There has to be a common link between them.  The FBI team is trying to match the unknowns from inside Walters’ home to the handprints I took from the interrogation room. ”  Brennan said.

          “The recent body was found at a bus stop but we concluded that Walters’ killed the victim.”  Zach said.

          “Yes, but Snyder had Walters write the note so we should assume he told him where to dump the body as well.”  Cam told him.

          “Ok, including the recent body, three were dumped at bus stops.  Two were found on playgrounds, and the last two were found out in front of the police station.  I’ll say this, the guy has a set.”  Hodgins said.

          “He certainly does.”  Booth agreed. 

          “What links a bus stop, a playground, and a police station?”  Angela wondered.

          “Maybe at some point in his life something bad happened at either the bus stop or a playground; something that required police attention.”  Cam said.

          “Sounds plausible but how is that going to help put him away?”  Booth asked; his patience was wearing thin.  This guy was good and he knew it. 

          “We need to see if there are any crimes linked to bus stops or playgrounds in either West Virginia or Maryland.”  Cam told the group.

          “Did Snyder have any siblings?”  Angela asked.

          “According to his file he had a sister, Mary.”  Zach told her.

          “What do you mean _had_?”  Brennan took the file away from the student and read it.  Booth quickly placed a call on his phone. 

          “Sam, I need any information you can find about a Mary Snyder from Charleston, West Virginia.  Thanks.”  The FBI Agent said.

          “Say something did happen in West Virginia.  Why cross state lines and then have people killed in Maryland?”  Hodgins asked. 

          “I don’t know.  I also don’t understand why a guy like Walters’ would step up his crimes from assault to murder either.”  Booth said.  Suddenly his phone rang and he answered it.

          “I don’t like all this conjecture.  There has to be something here in the evidence that will tell us what we ant to know.”  Brennan told them.  Booth snapped his phone shut and turned to the group.

          “Mary Snyder was strangled to death in August of 1994.  According to the police report, Mary went out to ride the bus to work and she never came home.  They found her body in a playground.  The police never found her killer but where Mary worked was a block from the park.”  He explained.

          “So she might have been taking a short cut through the playground and someone followed her and killed her.  That still doesn’t explain the gap or why he would remove the organs.”  Cam said.

          “Michael’s file says that in 2001, he got a job at the prison.”  Zach told the group.

          “So he stopped killing and moved to Maryland from West Virginia.”  Booth said.

          “Why take a job that far away from home?”  Angela asked.

          “Enough!”  Brennan shouted.  Everyone turned to her and stared.

          “We have handprints from Snyder.  I want Zach to see if there is any way of digitally matching the handprints to the marks around the victims’ necks.  Angela you help him with that.”  The two quickly grabbed what they needed from the examination table and headed off to the forensic artist’s office.  Hodgins waited for his assignment but it didn’t come.  Instead of giving him an assignment, the forensic anthropologist just stalked off the platform and went into her office.  Hodgins quickly raced off to Angela’s office to help his team members out.  Cam started to head toward Brennan’s office but Booth stopped her.

          “Let me talk to her.”  He said. The Head of Forensics only nodded and headed to her office while Booth tried to see what was bothering Brennan.


	11. Chapter 11

**Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab Thursday 9:00 a.m.**  

          The squint squad was still trying to see if they could digitally match the handprints to the pictures of the victims but it was tough going.  Brennan sat in her office trying to figure out what she could have missed in the examination of the bodies.  Last night when Booth had tried to talk to her, she yelled at him in her frustration.  She was upset over the fact that they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest Snyder and that he’d slipped through their fingers.  They had only lucked out that he was stupid enough to drive his fiancée’s car over to kill Walters.  Needless to say she had shouted and Booth had tried to calm her down but it was no use.  The FBI Agent went home alone and the forensic anthropologist spent the night in her office. 

          “Sweetie, can I talk to you for a minute?”  Angela appeared at her best friend’s door.

          “Why aren’t you working on the digital handprints?”  Brennan asked, in no mood to talk.

          “I came over here because my best friend needs to realize what she is doing.  That and my eyes hurt from staring at that computer screen for almost eight hours straight.”  The forensic artist had no intention of sugarcoating things.

          “You don’t think I know what I’m doing?  We have a serial murderer to catch.”  Brennan’s tone was harsh as she stood up from her desk.

          “I know that you spent the entire night in your office.  I also know that you sent Booth away after the two of you had a huge argument.  You can’t ruin your working relationship and your personal relationships for this guy.  We’re going to catch him.  We always get our guy.”  Angela raised her voice.

          “No, we don’t Angela!  Snyder has been getting away with this for twelve years!  What about the Grave Digger?!  We didn’t catch him did we?”  Brennan exploded on her friend.

          “That’s what is going on here.  You’re going to ruin everything you’ve got and you’ll be all by yourself and out of a job because the case isn’t going well?  Wake up, Bren.”  The forensic artist said.  At this Brennan broke down.  She was physically and emotionally drained.

          “It’s ok sweetie.  Come on.  You could use a nice hot shower and a change of clothes.  Why don’t you go home for a little bit?  We’ll still be here working.”  Angela tried to comfort her friend.

          “No, I can bathe in the decontamination shower and I have a change of clothes here.  I have to stay focused on the case.”  Brennan dried her eyes and strengthened her resolve. 

          “All right.  I’ll make sure the guys don’t have themselves a peep show.”  Angela smiled slightly trying to lighten the mood.

          “I don’t know what that means.”  Her friend said.  The forensic artist just rolled her eyes and left the office.  Brennan got up and walked over to one of her filing cabinets.  Pulling open the bottom drawer she grabbed out the clean outfit and headed for the decontamination shower.  She wasn’t paying attention when she bumped into someone. 

          “Oh sorry.”  She apologized without looking up and tried to continue on her way but the person wouldn’t allow her.  Brennan was slightly aggravated and she pulled her chin from her chest.

          “I need…” the rest of the sentence never came out because her blue eyes meet with a familiar chocolate brown pair.

          “Where are you going?”  He asked.  His tone was level, without a trace of any resentment.

          “I need to take a shower.”  She answered.  A smile crossed Booth’s face.

          “Well then it’s too bad we’re not at my place.”  A smile appeared on the forensic anthropologist’s face.

          “Even after last night, you’d still want to share a shower with me?”  Her eyes were hopeful as she whispered.  Booth wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and kiss here right there but they were at work.

          “Of course, I would.  I have some good news about the case so we’ll have to talk about it later.”  He whispered back.  Then in his regular voice he said,

          “Bones, we got something on the case.” 

          “I’ll get the rest of the team.”  She smiled and quickly ran into her office.  Shortly the rest of the team emerged from Angela’s office and assembled on top of the platform.

          “All right.  The FBI squints used the fingerprints off of the handprint you guys picked up and matched them to some found in Walters’ house.  That should be enough to bring Snyder in for more questioning but I’d like something else to make it more compelling for a search warrant.”  Booth told them.

          “Well we haven’t had any luck with the digital handprinting idea.  Unfortunately due to the decomposition of the bodies when we received them the handprints are distorted and mostly destroyed.”  Angela said. 

          “Well there goes that.  So what else can we do?”  Booth asked.

          “Our suspect isn’t as smart as he originally seemed.  He left finger prints behind so he had to leave something else behind.”  Cam said.  While the group thought an idea occurred to Brennan.  Quickly, she went over to the evidence box and pulled out some evidence bags.

          “These.”  She said holding them up. 

          “We never looked for fingerprints before because we didn’t have a sample to compare them to.  Now we do.”  The forensic anthropologist continued.

          “If we get a sample of his handwriting and compare it to the notes then we have him.  I can get a search warrant and hopefully from there an arrest warrant.”  Booth smiled. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Susan Granger and Michael Snyder’s Residence, Hagerstown, Maryland 12:00 p.m.**

                Booth knocked on the door to the familiar residence, he had ordered Brennan to stay behind but once again, she had refused.

          “Miss Granger!  Mr. Snyder!  This is FBI Special Agent Booth!  I have a search warrant!”  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, there was a crash from inside the living room.

          “Stand back.”  Booth said to Brennan.  Quickly he stepped back and kicked the door down.  Booth went inside his gun pointed out in front of him.  He didn’t see anything but then he heard something being knocked over.  The FBI Special Agent whipped around to look into the living room and saw Susan Granger lying on the floor.

          “Help her.  I’m going after Snyder.”  Booth said as he moved through the rest of the house.

          Brennan quickly rushed to the woman’s side and felt for a pulse.  Luckily, she had one but it wasn’t very strong.  The forensic anthropologist whipped out her cell phone and dialed for an ambulance.

          Booth swept through the house looking for Michael Snyder.  The bastard had almost killed his own fiancé and now they were chasing him on his own territory, which made Snyder all the more dangerous.  Suddenly, Booth stopped in his tracks.  He’d heard something coming from down the hall.  The FBI Agent’s senses were on high alert and he could have heard a pin drop in the middle of a noisy party. 

          Approaching the source of the noise he became aware of a shadow that played out on the carpet underneath the door at the end of the hall.  Snyder was hiding behind the partially cracked open door.  With one swift move, Booth rammed the door with all the force he could muster.  Unfortunately, Snyder saw this coming and moved.  The door hit the wall and serial killer ran for the set of open windows on the other side of the room.  Booth shook his head and moved from the door.  
          “Freeze Snyder!”  He shouted.  The serial killer didn’t listen.  Instead, he burst through the open window’s screen and tumbled outside.  Booth ran to the window and followed him. 

          Down the hall, in the living room, Brennan heard the shouting and wanted to go help Booth but Susan Granger’s life was in her hands until help arrived.  The 911 operator had promised to send a couple of squad cars as well as an ambulance and the forensic anthropologist hoped that Susan could continue to fight for a little while longer.  That’s when she heard the sirens.

          Booth chased Snyder toward a small gully in the backyard.  This was uncharted territory and the FBI Agent’s instincts told him that the serial killer had the advantage but he wasn’t about to give up.  It was then that Booth realized that Snyder had disappeared from view.

          Cautiously, the FBI Special Agent approached the edge of the small gully.  He could see Snyder’s footprints in the mud; lucky for Booth it had rained overnight.  Off in the distance, the sounds of sirens met his ears as well as another sound, the sound of a sawed off shotgun being cocked.

          The ambulance and three squad cars pulled up outside the house.  The rescue personnel found Brennan trying to keep Susan alive.  The forensic anthropologist let the paramedics take over and then she quickly told the police what was going on.

          “My partner Special Agent Booth and I came to execute a search warrant when we heard a commotion inside.  We were able to stop Michael Snyder from killing his fiancé but he escaped through the house.  Agent Booth followed him down the hall.  However, I heard something breaking and I think that they are outside somewhere.”

          “Ma’am, do you have a weapon?”  One of the officers asked.

          “No.”  Brennan said a hint of frustration in her voice.

          “Then you’ll have to stay here but point us in the right direction.”  The officer said.

          “That way.”  She pointed toward the door at the end of the hall.

          “Thank you.”  Quickly the six police officers headed in the direction she had pointed out.  Brennan heard them shout to each other that both men must have headed toward some ditch in the yard.  That’s when she also heard what sounded like a gunshot.


	13. Chapter 13

**Susan Granger and Michael Snyder’s Residence, Hagerstown, Maryland 12:30 p.m.**

          Brennan quickly ran out the front door without waiting for the police officers to return from down the hall.  She ran around the side of the house toward the direction Booth had taken off in.  Rounding the corner she saw movement down near the ditch that she heard the police talking about.  Someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her back.  She whirled around ready to fight her attacker when she recognized the man as one of the police officers.

          “You can’t go out there.  We’ll handle this.”  He said.

          “Officer, Agent Booth…” the policeman cut her off.

          “I know Agent Booth is your partner but you have to let me do my job ok?  You can call me Officer O’Grady by the way.”  He smiled slightly and then ducked around the corner himself.  Brennan wasn’t about to give up that easily.  Without a second thought, she ran around to the other side of the building.  From the backside of the house she got a better view of the gully and better cover from the deck that was there.  Again she saw someone struggling in the ditch and the forensic anthropologist moved closer.  Brennan immediately recognized the color of Booth’s gray suit coat and ran toward the ditch.  She imagined Officer O’Grady was cursing under his breath but she didn’t care.  It was then that she heard Booth’s voice.

          “A little help here!”

          “Booth!”  It was the only thing she could think to say at the moment as the distance between her and her partner closed.

          “Bones!”  He shouted back.

          “Are you all right?”  Brennan asked as she arrived to find the FBI Agent shin-deep in the muck of the gully and holding onto Michael Snyder underneath his arms.  Snyder was too busy writhing in pain to try to loosen the FBI Agent’s grip.

          “Other than the fact I’m covered in mud, I’ll be fine.  He’ll probably need some surgery before he’s better.”  Booth smirked as he moved his head to point at Snyder.

          “Dr. Brennan!”  She could hear Officer O’Grady’s voice and the pounding footsteps of the other policemen.  She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Booth.

          “Want some help?”  She smirked.

          “That would be nice considering all the trouble I went through.”  The FBI Agent rolled his eyes.

          “Get me out of here!”  Snyder spoke up for the first time.  The six police officers arrived and surveyed the scene before them.

          “Bauer and Visone get down there and grab Mr. Snyder.  I’m sure that Agent Booth would like to get the filth off his hands.  Williams, call for a bus.”  Officer O’Grady chuckled.   Policemen Bauer and Visone started to go down the muddy slope while Officer Williams called for an ambulance.   Once they reached the bottom, Bauer and Visone allowed the FBI Agent to let go of Snyder and they very unceremoniously started dragging him up the side of the ditch.  The serial killer was cursing the whole way.

          “Oh do be careful of Mr. Snyder’s left knee.  I took the liberty of shooting him after he leveled his illegally sawed off shot gun at me.”  Booth told him.

          “No problem.”  Bauer said as he ‘accidentally’ bumped Snyder knee.

          “Watch it you idiot!”  The captive shouted.  At the top of the slippery slope, a fifth officer began to read Snyder his rights.

          “Michael Snyder you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Susan Granger, resisting arrest, and illegal weapons possession.  You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to an attorney, if you can not afford one, one will be provided.”  While this was going on, Booth pulled himself out of the muck and began to climb up the side of the muddy slope.  Towards the top, Brennan reached out and helped him escape the muck.

          “Booth I’d like you to meet Officer O’Grady.”  Brennan introduced the two men.

          “Officer, I’d like to thank you for your assistance.  Unfortunately, Snyder’s sawed off is still down in the mud.”  Booth said.

          “I’ll call for a crime scene unit and they can dig it out.  I’m just glad that you got him before he got you.”  O’Grady smiled.

          “So am I.  Which hospital are they taking him to?”  Booth wondered.

          “He’ll be taken to Hagerstown General.  As soon as he’s able to travel, I’ll have him brought to Washington so you can level all the charges you want against him.”  The policeman assured him.

          “Excellent.  Your captain has my number, if he could give me a call when you do transfer him.”  Booth said.

          “Sure.  Now if you’ll excuse me.”  O’Grady gave a nod and then headed off to get the crime scene taken care of.

          “Let’s go home Bones.”  Booth said.

          “Sounds good to me.”  Brennan smiled.

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab 4:00 pm**

          Dr. Brennan sat in her office making sure that all the evidence was collected against Michael Snyder when there was a knock on her office door.  Looking up form her work, she saw her partner Agent Booth standing there.

          “Come in.”  She smiled.

          “I have some good news.”  He said as he closed the office door.

          “Oh and what’s that?”  Brennan asked.

          “Susan Granger is going to recover.  The doctor’s said that if we hadn’t found here when we did she wouldn’t have made it.”  Booth told her as he plopped down on her couch.

          “That is good news.”  She said as she continued to load the box in front of her.

          “There’s more.  Because Snyder was arrested, we can compel him to give us a writing sample.  Once that sample matches the letters he left behind, there’s no way for him to avoid jail time.”  He said putting his feet up on her coffee table.

          “Well that will only tie him to the people murdered in West Virginia.  It doesn’t tie him to Walters’ murder.”  Brennan sighed.

          “That’s where you’re wrong.  You remember that search warrant?  Well the CSU team combed Snyder’s place.  Well back when we found that message on Walters’ wall you had discovered all those different blood types and you said that he would’ve collected the blood and brain matter in a container.”  Booth told her.

          “Right, so?”  She wondered.

          “Well the CSU team found containers with organs and with blood in a refrigerator out in garage, that and they found a lot of skewers.  They’re matching the types and the missing organs with the West Virginia victims as we speak along with sending the skewers here so Zach can do his magic.  If they do match the types in the word on Walters’ wall that with Snyder’s fingerprints inside the house it should be enough get him to talk.  Of course if any of the skewer marks match then he won’t need to talk.”  He explained.

          “What about Mary Snyder?  Will she ever get justice?”  Brennan asked.  Booth sighed and shook his head.

          “I don’t know Bones.  It’s one of those cases that will haunt everyone involved.”  He said.  Brennan nodded and closed the lid on the evidence box.  Then she came over and sat down next to Booth.

          “I don’t like it.  Mary Snyder should have justice.”  She told her partner.

          “I know she should.  There are some things that bother me about the whole case though and I can’t seem to figure them out.  Why bother to bring Walters in on the murder spree?  Another thing, why leave Susan’s car in Walters’ driveway?  If Walters’ did steal it why not take the car and dump it somewhere else?  Why keep the victim’s blood and organs?  Do you still think that he wanted to follow the ancient Egyptians?”  Booth asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

          “It’s a possibility.”  Brennan shrugged.

          “Hopefully when I get to question Snyder he’ll give me a straight answer.  The Hagerstown police suspect he won’t be able to be sent to Washington before Saturday so I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.”  Booth gave a small smile.

          “Do you suppose we could maybe wait at my place tonight?”  Brennan asked.

          “If you promise to talk me through everything that happened when you and Hodgins were trapped in that car.  I know that argument we had, had absolutely nothing to do with the current case.  You were buried alive and I want to hear everything, ok?”  He squeezed her shoulders.  Brennan nodded and gave a tight smile.

          “Well I have to go fill out a report for discharging my weapon and check up on the CSU squad.  I’ll call you.  Hopefully, I’ll be done by six.”  Booth moved his arm and started to get up.

          “I’ll be sure to be home by then.  I’m sure that Angela won’t object.”  She smiled and stood up with him.

          “See you later, Temperance.” 

          “Later it is, Seeley.”  Angela heard the two saying their good-byes and immediately left her post at the office door.  Those two were getting along and it was her turn to get along and find Jack. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Saturday Morning**

          “RRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!”  A loud noise made Special Agent Seeley Booth open his eyes slowly.  Again the noise sounded and he quickly rolled over.  It was his cell phone it had to be around somewhere.  He tumbled out of bed dragging the covers with him.  Immediately his bed partner complained.

          “Seeley, not again.”  He ignored her complaints and continued to try to find his pants in which his cell phone was located.  By the time he found them, the phone had rang five times and was threatening to go to voicemail when he answered it groggily,

          “Booth.”

          “Goddamn it was a good thing I didn’t need you to put out a fire Booth.”  The voice on the other end of the phone was unmistakable and suddenly the FBI Special Agent felt naked, even though he was wearing boxer shorts, as he stood at attention. 

          “Sorry, sir.  I just woke up.”  He told Cullen.

          “Hagerstown police are bringing in your suspect at ten o’clock.  That gives you an hour and a half to get you and Dr. Brennan down here.  I want this psycho put away do you understand me?”  The Deputy Director asked.

          “Yes, sir.”  Booth replied.

          “Good.”  Cullen dropped the phone back into its cradle.

          “Goodbye sir.”  The FBI agent said even though his boss wasn’t able to hear him.  Turning around he saw his partner, Dr. Brennan, trying to keep warm in his button down dress shirt.  She desperately wanted to sleep some more but Booth knew they couldn’t mess around.

          “Bones, we gotta go.  Come on.”  At the mention of her nickname, Brennan knew it was important and slowly sat up.

          “What’s going on?”  She asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

          “The Hagerstown police are bringing Snyder down to headquarters at ten.  This is our opportunity to question him.”  Booth said.  Brennan nodded and slowly crawled out of the bed.

          “Are we at my place or yours?”  She squinted until she could focus her eyes.

          “We’re at yours.  Wow, I guess you could use more sleep.”  He shook his head.

          “I’m sorry, I can’t help it if I didn’t get enough sleep.  I do believe you’re the one to blame for that.”  Brennan smirked as she went over to her drawers and pulled out some clean clothes. 

          “Oh and I suppose you didn’t want to have sex?”  Booth gave her a look.  Brennan just smiled, removed his shirt, and made her way to the bathroom.  Needless to say, Booth would have loved to grab her and take the temptation away but they didn’t have time for that.

          “Are you going to take a shower or do you have to head over to your place?”  She asked from the bathroom.  The forensic anthropologist was really getting to him and it was taking all his strength to control himself.

          “Sadly, I must head to my place to grab a clean suit.  I’ll swing back here in about an hour.”  He told her as he quickly dressed in the clothes he’d worn the night before.

          “See you then.”  She said.  He heard the shower turn on and he smiled, maybe he could get her back after all.  He snuck into the bathroom and flushed the toilet.  Quickly he headed for the door as he heard she cry out.

          “Booth!”

**Hoover Building at 10:00 a.m.**          

Dr. Temperance Brennan stood behind the one-way glass watching as Michael Snyder, his lawyer, and Booth entered the room.  Snyder didn’t look like he was in much of a mood to talk but she hoped that her partner could change his mind.          

“Mr. Snyder, I have some bad news for you.  That handwriting sample we compelled from you cam back a match to the notes attached to four bodies that were found in West Virginia.  We also matched the skewer marks we found inside Walters’ skull to the skewers we found in your house.  On top of that we made a search of your hunting cabin on Friday and found the spot where you stored the bodies until dumping them in public places.  I have you on five counts of murder, two counts accessory to murder, one count of attempted murder, one count resisting arrest, and one count of illegal weapons possession.”  Booth told him.           

“So what?”  Snyder asked.  Before Booth could say anything, Snyder’s lawyer, a Mr. Davidson, cut in.           

“We are not denying the charges but I’d like to know what we are doing here?  Are you going to make some sort of offer?”           

“There are some things I’d like cleared up.  I might be able to get the DA agree to tack on the resisting arrest and possession in with the other charges concurrently.”  Booth said.          

“That’s not much of a deal.  We want the death penalty off the table.”  Davidson said.          

“Well your client murdered a Maryland resident, I have no control over what they want to do to him.  You lucked out that West Virginia doesn’t have a death penalty.”  The FBI Agent was playing hardball.           

“If he tells you what you want to know, you’ll talk to the Maryland DA and get the death penalty taken off the table?”  The lawyer asked.          

“First tell me what I want to know and then I’ll see what I can do.”  Booth told them.  Davidson leaned over and whispered something to Snyder.  The serial killer nodded and asked,          

“What do you want to know?”           

“Why did you bring Walters’ in on your murdering spree?”  Booth inquired.

          “I explained to him that I was looking for someone to come forward about my sister’s murder.  He said the only way was to bring the case to the national spotlight.  So I brought him in on it.”  Snyder didn’t hesitate to answer.

          “Why leave Susan’s car in Walters’ driveway?  If he stole the car why not take the car and dump it somewhere else?”  Booth wondered.

          “Walters’ didn’t realize what I wanted him to do.  When he got out he found me and said that he’d help me but after he killed those tow people, he wanted out saying that he couldn’t do it anymore.  Apparently, he had a conscience after all.  Anyway he stole Susan’s car and I chased after him.  We fought, I killed him, and was then going to take Susan’s car but I saw you pull up to the curb and decided to get away.”  Snyder told him.

            “Why keep the victim’s blood and organs?”  The FBI Agent was surprised that Snyder took his time answering this particular question.   

          “I needed the organs and blood to bring back my sister.  With the deaths of others only then she could live again.”  Those two sentences made Booth realize that Snyder was way beyond nuts. 

          “So you’ve been watching too many Mummy movies, huh?”  Booth tried to see if he could get a rise out of Snyder.

          “My sister has been dead too long to bring her back in her original body.  I would have to bring her back inside someone else’s body.  I harvested the organs and blood to fill that new body.”  The serial killer’s tone was level.  There was a tap on the glass and Booth quickly got up and excused himself.

          “I guess I was wrong.  He was trying to follow Dr. Frankenstein.”  Brennan said after Booth closed the door behind him.  The FBI Agent just shook his head trying to understand what would possess the man to do such a thing.

          “Although I don’t think he realized that the organs and blood would have an expiration date.  The organs wouldn’t last long outside the body and if the blood and plasma weren’t separated neither would the fluids.”  She continued.

          “So at first he had every intention of having his own sister’s organs removed before she was embalmed and then try to bring her back but since his parents wouldn’t allow it he decided to go steal body parts from other living people.  He blames the West Virginia police for not finding his sister’s killer.”  Booth said.

          “It appears that way.  Ultimately the Ancient Egyptian opportunity had been eliminated so he turned to the only book that would help him in his search was Mary Shelley’s _Frankenstein_.  Although _Frankenstein_ is vague, a smart man like Snyder would look up medical journals and find a way.  Ask him where he intended to put the body together.  He would have needed a lab of some sort and a body that he could have used to input what he kept form the victims.”  Brennan told him.  Booth shook his head and went back into the room.

          “All right, Mr. Snyder.  If that is what you intended to do, where were you going to perform this and what body were you going to use?”  The FBI Agent asked.

          “I was setting up a facility to work out at the cabin but I never got the chance thanks to you.  It was unfortunate that Susan couldn’t keep out of my affairs.”  Snyder told him.

          “So she found out what you were going to do and you tried to kill her for it.”  Booth said.

          “She was peeking around in the garage and found the organs I was going to use for Mary’s new body.”  Snyder said.

          “Well I’ve heard enough.  I’ll call the Maryland DA and see what I can do.  In the meantime, Mr. Snyder you will spend some time in federal lock up.”  Booth said.  Mr. Davidson nodded as two agents entered the room and escorted Snyder down to the lock up.  With them gone, Brennan entered the room.

          “Well, I’m glad that’s over.”  He said.  His partner just nodded. 

          “Let’s get out of here.”  Booth continued.

          “You mind dropping me off at the lab so I can finish the paperwork?”  Brennan asked.

          “How about this we go to the lab and do the paperwork together, so we can spend Sunday together with Parker?  Besides I think he has a question he’s been wanting to ask you.”  The FBI Agent said.

          “I would like that.  What kind of question?”  Brennan wondered.  Booth just smiled, placed his hand on the small of her back, and walked with her out of the interrogation room toward the parking garage.


	15. Chapter 15

**Two weeks later on Christmas Morning at 12:30 a.m.**

            Dr. Temperance Brennan rolled over in bed to discover that her bed partner wasn’t there.  Instead there was a cold empty space.  She opened her eyes and let them adjust to the darkness of the room.  Rolling back over, the forensic anthropologist turned on the light next to the bed and blinked so that her eyes adjusted for a second time. 

          Looking around, she found a piece of paper on his pillow.  Quickly she picked it up and read it. 

                             “Temperance,

                             Went to midnight Mass.  Hope to be back around 1:30.

                                                          Love,

                                                          Seeley.”

          Brennan sighed and climbed out of bed.  The floor was cold and she quickly found her slippers.  She had agreed to spend the Christian holiday over at his apartment and now she was glad she thought to bring the plush footwear. 

          Padding down to the living room, she looked around.  The streetlights cast some light through the drawn shades and she easily found her way to the Christmas tree.  Plugging it in, Brennan smiled as it illuminated most of the room.  When Parker came over later that day, he would love to see how it looked.  She walked over to the coat rack and reached inside her coat pocket.  There she found the envelope she was looking for, moved toward the couch, and sat down.

          The envelope held something she should have given Seeley a long time ago but something inside just didn’t want to admit how much she really needed him.  She still wanted to be independent and live life the way she wanted but that didn’t matter anymore.  Her brother had run off with her father leaving her alone again.  She had wanted to have a family more than anything.  It might make her more like everyone else but it was not to be and then Booth had said something that made her realize what was right in front of her.  He told her that the team was her family.  They were her Squint Squad, her family.  Brennan could have sworn he was going to kiss her when Zach interrupted them.  Zach.  He was officially Dr. Zach Addy now.  Cam had agreed to hire him as such and she knew that he would make a great forensic anthropologist.  That’s when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of keys in the door lock.

          “Bones?  What are you doing up?”  Booth smiled as he turned on the light. 

          “I rolled over to find the bed half empty.  Why didn’t you wake me up when you were getting ready?”  Brennan wondered. 

          “You didn’t have to come.  I know you don’t believe so I wasn’t going to force it on you.”  He said as he took off his coat and shoes.

          “It would have been a good experience from an anthropological stand point.”  She told him.

          “Uh huh and you would have wanted me to wake you up at eleven o’clock when you had just gotten comfortable twenty minutes beforehand?  Besides you need your sleep, lately you seem to be walking around like a zombie.”  Booth teased as he sat down next to her.  At this, Brennan fell silent, not a normal occurrence, and he became concerned.

          “What’s wrong?”  He asked.

  _We'll do it all, Everything, On our own; We don't need, Anything, Or anyone…_          

“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to do and I can’t put it off anymore.”  Brennan told him. 

_I_ _f I lay here, If I just lay here, Would you lie with me and just forget the world?; I don't quite know, How to say, How I feel…_          

“Whatever it is just tell me.  You know I can handle it.”  He reassured her. 

_Those three words, Are said too much, They're not enough; If I lay here, If I just lay here, Would you lie with me and just forget the world? … “I wasn’t completely honest with you when we talked about Hodgins and I being trapped in that car.”  She sighed and handed over the envelope._

_Forget what we're told, Before we get too old, Show me a garden that's bursting into life; Let's waste time, Chasing cars, Around our heads…_          

Booth took the business-sized packet and carefully opened it up.

_I_ _need your grace, To remind me, To find my own; If I lay here, If I just lay here, Would you lie with me and just forget the world? …_          

He cautiously pulled out a piece of paper.  I was dirt stained and it had been ripped out of something.  That something he realized was a book.  Not just any book but Brennan’s most recent novel. 

_Forget what we're told, Before we get too old, Show me a garden that's bursting into life; All that I am, All that I ever was, Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see…_          

Booth read the note that had been scrawled on the ripped book page.  The next thing Brennan knew he had wrapped his arms around her and holding her tight.  He could feel her tears on his shirt.  Pulling her back he wiped the tears from her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers.     

_I don't know where, Confused about how as well, Just know that these things will never change for us at all, If I lay here, If I just lay here, Would you lie with me and just forget the world?_  

The words she had written were her true honest feelings.  Had he not found them in time she hoped that they would be enough.  It wasn’t a long note but it said everything it needed to say. 

“Booth, I love you.  I would have been yours forever.” 

**The End**


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